Fraport Group Interim Report -Third Quarter and Nine Months 2017: Strong Business Performance Supported by Significant Growth in Traffic at All Group Airports

The Fraport Group closed the first nine months (ending September 30) of the 2017 financial year with a significant 13.7 percent rise in Group revenue to EUR2.23 billion. At Frankfurt Airport (FRA), growth was fueled, in particular, by higher revenue resulting from the noticeable jump in passenger traffic, higher proceeds from the retail business and security services, as well as the sale of property sites. In addition, the Group's international business contributed considerably to revenue growth, primarily due to the operational takeover of the 14 Greek airports, as well as to revenue gains at the Group's Lima Airport company.

Operating earnings (EBITDA) increased by 19.4 percent to EUR807.7 million, while the Group result grew by 43.3 percent to EUR342.3 million. The reason for this was the improved financial result (minus EUR65.6 million compared to minus EUR79.0 million in the same period of 2016), mainly due to the Group's Antalya subsidiary which posted significantly better earnings (plus EUR21.2 million compared to minus EUR8.8 million in the first nine months of 2016, on the basis of Fraport's 50 percent share). Operating cash flow also rose markedly by 37.3 percent year-on-year to EUR687.4 million. Free cash flow developed similarly, expanding by 25.1 percent to EUR388.0 million.

Thus, Fraport AG's executive board chairman, Dr. Stefan Schulte, delivered a correspondingly positive assessment of the Group's business performance: "After the first nine months of the year, we are absolutely on course to achieve our annual targets. The solid performance delivered by our Group airports made a particularly important contribution to the rising result. With the successful operational takeover of the 14 Greek airports and the double-win of two airport concessions at Fortaleza and Porto Alegre in Brazil, we are systematically expanding our global airport business. Furthermore, we are also achieving solid growth in Frankfurt again, where we made the necessary strategic decisions at the right time."

During January to September 2017, Frankfurt Airport welcomed about 48.9 million passengers - representing a 4.6 percent jump year-on-year and a new traffic record for this nine-month period. A new daily traffic record was also reached on September 29, when 225,801 passengers passed through the Frankfurt Airport global hub. Cargo volume (airfreight + airmail, excluding transit cargo) also developed positively with growth of 5.1 percent to 1.63 million metric tons. Without exception, the international Group airports also generated strong passenger traffic in the reporting period - with some registering double-digit growth.

On the basis of traffic development to date, Fraport's executive board expects passenger traffic at Frankfurt Airport to grow by about five percent for the entire 2017. Following the completion of the first nine-months of the year, the executive board reaffirms the company's forecast for net assets, financial position and results of operations in full-year 2017 - especially because start-up costs for Fraport's two new airports in Brazil will be booked mainly in the fourth quarter. Accordingly, Fraport expects Group revenue (including the new Greek airports), to reach up to EUR2.9 billion, with EBITDA in the range of about EUR980 million to EUR1,020 million, and the Group result in the range of EUR310 million to EUR350 million.

Here is a summary of the results for Fraport's four business segments:

Aviation: Segment revenue rose by 4.0 percent to EUR721.0 million in the first nine months of 2017. Besides the growth in passenger traffic at FRA, this segment was positively impacted by higher proceeds from airport fees (rose by an average of 1.9 percent as of January 1, 2017), and higher income from security services. Segment EBITDA increased by 4.6 percent to EUR201.3 million, despite additional personnel expenses. Lower depreciation and amortization resulted in segment EBIT of EUR113.7 million, up 15.4 percent year-on-year.

Retail & Real Estate: Segment revenue improved by 6.3 percent to EUR394.2 million in the reporting period. This was due mainly to higher proceeds from property sales and the increased passenger volume at FRA, which had a positive effect on retail revenue and car-parking income. Net retail income per passenger decreased by 2.1 percent year-on-year to EUR3.31 (previous year: EUR3.38). Factors contributing to the decline in indicator included the depreciation of various currencies against the euro, as well as the changing passenger mix at FRA. Passengers flying on European routes tend to spend less than passengers on intercontinental routes - with European traffic growing particularly strongly at FRA. But in total, retail revenue grew further. Segment EBITDA grew slightly by 2.2 percent to EUR288.2 million, while segment EBIT climbed by 3.2 percent to EUR225.6 million.

Ground Handling: In the first three quarters of 2017, this segment posted a slight 0.9 percent gain in revenue to EUR482.6 million, due to higher income from Ground Services at Frankfurt Airport. Personnel costs rose as a result of pay-scale increases and higher provisions for transforming the personnel structure. As a result, segment EBITDA fell by 15.1 percent to EUR38.1 million, while segment EBIT dropped by a noticeable 45.2 percent to EUR8.5 million.